Joya De Nicaragua Antano (Machito)

[chain_gang]

1/3:

Medium to med+ body and flavor.

Woody. Not 100% sure if it’s oak or cedar, but I’m pretty sure it’s not hickory. I’m still unsure about wood in general, but that's what popped in the mind; and flavor-wheel-sector-wise, that’s what I’m thinking it’s closest to.

Some kind of pepper, or spice. Nowhere near intense from what I remember.

Char on the end of the retrohale. Seems like a charred wood, so the wood thoughts are reaffirmed.

A tiny bit of leather and sweet cream in there.

2/3:

Char dies down gradually.

Wood still present.

Black tea emerges. This definitely bolsters some confidence with identifying the wood early on. Looking back on my flavor-wheel notes, I’m certain it has been oak this entire time...but don’t quote me on it, my Bums!

Maybe leather here and there.

Sweet cream may have faded way back in body.

Coffee washes over the tongue post-retrohale.

3/3:

More tea-ish than wood.

Everything kinda tones down intensity-wise. Wasn’t very intense to begin with, and the pepper or spice has faded away. Still very good.

Judgement:

Great stick. Not in my preferred wheel-house, but I can see myself coming around to dig woody profiles more - because of this stick. Ended up enjoying this stick more and more as I progressed. Nice transition from wood to tea made it very interesting. Value-wise, I believe the MSRP of about $5 is spot-on. Got it for a buck, so it’ll definitely be on a future bidding menu.